"What is going on here?"
"Can someone explain what kind of swordsmanship that was? It's insane!"
"Even Tong Gu looks completely stunned!"
The livestream chat exploded with questions and exclamations. Loyal viewer and frequent commentator [Savior] Wu Zhengyang tried to keep up, his fingers flying across the keyboard. But after glancing at his dwindling account balance and noticing his wife's increasingly displeased expression, he sighed and reluctantly set his phone aside.
Tong Gu gazed at the writhing remains of the Nurarihyon submerged in the molten lava below. Its charred body, wracked by the unbearable heat, continued to struggle, refusing to surrender to death.
He turned his attention to the hundred-meter-long trail of blazing magma stretching across the ground and then to his scorched and battered nano-blade.
[Nano-Blade (Damaged)]
Tong Gu tightened his grip on the hilt of the weapon, then loosened it again. It wasn't grief he felt—no, it was something else entirely.
He was recalling something.
That fleeting moment of clarity, when he inexplicably sensed the seething flames beneath the earth. When his every action—the angle of his swing, the force behind it—was executed with unerring precision.
But now, as the searing heat in his chest began to subside, that sensation was gone.
In its place, a profound emptiness threatened to engulf him.
[Talent Manifestation Ended. Your talent ??? has revealed new traits.]
As the abnormal heat left his body, Tong Gu could feel his strength fading rapidly. A sharp pain pierced his chest.
He quickly brought up his status screen:
[Player: UD389033995]
[Paths: Bladesmanship/Fist Combat]
[Attributes]
[Skills]
[Abilities]
[Talents]
• Strength: 20+ (Declining)
• Constitution: 20+ (Declining)
• Agility: 20+ (Declining)
• Spirit: 20+ (Declining)
• Energy: 0 Basic Fist Techniques Lv7
• Basic Footwork Lv3
• Basic Swordsmanship Lv4
• Blind Combat Lv1
• Gu Martial Arts (Grade C): A specialized martial art combining ki and traditional techniques, known for its explosive power.
• Breathing Technique: Earth's Breath (Grade C): A breathing method that greatly enhances physical strength and endurance.
• Genetic Modification (Grade C): Long-term use of genetic serums has increased your strength and resistance.
• ??? (Manifested): Your soul contains a high-dimensional trait, granting you the ability to influence both yourself and the world. Tong Gu's gaze lingered on the words high-dimensional trait under his talent description.
High-dimensional… a trait beyond the ordinary?
Was he just a brain in a vat? A part of some simulated experiment?
His mind swirled with questions, his thoughts fragmenting. He recognized this as another sign of his deteriorating condition—his inability to focus.
"Cough!"
A sharp pain gripped his chest, forcing a blackened, scorched mass of blood from his throat.
As the blood left his body, the intense fervor from his unknown talent completely dissipated. In its place, searing pain erupted in his lungs, spreading outward. Tong Gu instinctively clutched his chest, trembling uncontrollably.
He cast a regretful glance at the writhing magma before staggering to the side. His hands trembled as he retrieved an injector from his backpack.
The syringe was filled with a special concoction—adrenaline mixed with other compounds to stabilize injuries and suppress pain.
Tong Gu positioned the needle against his arm, ready to inject.
Boom!
A violent gust of wind, reeking of burnt flesh and sulfur, surged toward him.
A towering monstrosity loomed before Tong Gu. Standing over three meters tall, its muscular frame was encased in grotesque, blackened bone. Long, scythe-like claws dragged along the ground, while jagged bone spines unfurled from its back like demonic wings.
The Nurarihyon had undergone a horrifying transformation. Its entire body exuded an aura of death, as if it had risen directly from the sulfurous pits of hell.
Before Tong Gu could react, one of its razor-sharp claws was already pressed against his forehead.
---
"Ahhh!"
"Oh my god!"
"Holy—what is that thing!?"
The livestream viewers were paralyzed with fear, as if the creature had reached through their screens to stand before them.
In one viewer's room, Guo Dengyuan dropped his phone in terror, unable to pick it back up as his trembling hands betrayed him.
---
Tong Gu felt the piercing cold of the creature's claw against his brow, and an overwhelming killing intent enveloped him.
"Mortals…"
The Nurarihyon's voice carried no mockery, only an indifferent acknowledgment of Tong Gu's mortality.
Faced with the monster's gaze, which seemed to look down on all of existence, Tong Gu felt an undeniable truth—he was going to die.
Yet, instead of memories flashing before his eyes, all Tong Gu felt was a consuming sense of unwillingness.
How could he accept such an end in this world?
That thought alone stoked the embers of defiance within him.
The Nurarihyon pressed harder, but just as its claw was about to pierce, a strange sound echoed:
Crack.
A translucent, glass-like barrier shattered between Tong Gu's forehead and the Nurarihyon's claw.
Bang!
A triangular beam of light streaked through the air. The Nurarihyon, momentarily distracted, turned its attention toward the source.
Tong Gu, meanwhile, was yanked backward by two figures—Kato Masaru of the Tokyo team and Hara Tetsuo of the Osaka team.
"You…"
Before he could finish, the two practically dragged him away, their combat suits operating at full power.
In the distance, two others, Shimohira Reika and Yamasaki Anzu, continued firing at the creature, their hands trembling but refusing to relent.
"Are you not afraid?" Tong Gu asked, his voice faint but curious.
Reika, her Kansai accent shaking with fear, yelled back: "Afraid? I'm terrified!"
Despite her fear, she kept firing.
In that moment, Tong Gu realized something profound. Humanity's resilience wasn't born of strength or fearlessness, but of courage in the face of terror.
As the chaos unfolded, he injected the syringe into his arm, his confidence returning.
"What now?" Reika asked, her voice cracking.
Tong Gu smiled faintly. "Now?"
"Now we fight the boss!"
*********************************************
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